UPDATE @ 6:22 p.m. Thursday: Several more downtown State College establishments also will halt alcohol service on Saturday. We’ve posted an updated report on this page.
———-
At least two downtown State College bars will voluntarily close Saturday, designated as State Patty’s Day, the bars’ operators confirmed.
The Lion’s Den, 118 S. Garner St., and the Shandygaff, at the rear of 212 E. College Ave., both shut down for State Patty’s Day 2010, as well. And more downtown bars are weighing whether to join the Den and the ‘gaff in closing Saturday, downtown leaders said.
The unofficial, student-led drinking holiday got its start in 2007.
‘We’re turning away tens of thousands of dollars’ in business by closing for the day, Den operator Chris Rosengrant said. ‘Any business that would close — that’s what they’re literally turning away from.’
But he said that ‘I feel like we’ve got to make a statement that we’re not part of the problem. …
‘You can’t put a price on community pride,’ Rosengrant said.
Likewise, Shandygaff operator Mark Sapia said that ‘I really don’t understand why the holiday, drinking day or whatever you want to call it is still going on.’
‘It’s not becoming. It’s ugly-looking. It’s very ugly-looking,’ Sapia said. ‘It’s not necessary. … It’s the excessiveness. I don’t understand it.’
State Patty’s Day began at a time when another drinking-oriented occasion in town — St. Patrick’s Day — fell during Penn State’s spring break. A number of students, planning to be out of town for spring break, didn’t want to miss celebrating the holiday that year in State College. And so they created an alternative: State Patty’s Day, held when students would be in town.
Now, though, the alternative drinking holiday has persisted annually — regardless of whether St. Patrick’s Day coincides with spring break. State Patty’s Day is associated with spiraling police and ambulance calls in the downtown; many of the incidents involve people who are visitors to town and not active Penn State students.
This year, well more than 20,000 people have indicated on Facebook that they plan to be in town for State Patty’s Day. Town and university officials have urged establishments not to do anything special to encourage the occasion — a plea that many have heard, said Downtown Improvement District Executive Director Jody Alessandrine.
‘Those who have hearings scheduled probably know it doesn’t pay to make a little bit of extra money on one day to risk their license,’ he said. Alessandrine was referring to the seven bars already facing state objections to their liquor-license renewals. (Those bars include the Shandygaff and the Lion’s Den.)
‘We’re happy that a lot (of businesses) are just being responsible,’ Alessandrine said. ‘ … Everyone, at the end of the day, is being responsible by not feeding the beast.’
He said that ‘the real problem are the state (liquor) stores.’ He lamented ‘the fact that people can buy a lot (from those stores) — and who knows, once they leave that property, who they might give it to. …
‘A lot is happening not in the bars, but in housing units,’ Alessandrine went on. ‘It’s probably cheaper to drink there than it is anywhere else. … I’ve always maintained that the state needs to do its part, not just send the (liquor-control-enforcement) people in. A lot of the abuse comes from people buying alcohol and consuming it on private property.’
Police have indicated they have a variety of enforcement efforts lined up for Saturday. Municipal officers from across the area are expected in the downtown State College area, according to a press release from Ferguson Township. The state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement also plans to have both uniformed and undercover presences Saturday in town, state police Sgt. Wayne Bush said.
Meanwhile, a number of community groups are offering Saturday alternatives to drinking. Some students have organized a ‘State Service Day’ to focus on community service, the borough has helped coordinate a community-outreach effort, and Schlow Centre Region Library has planned some activities, too. The library, 211 S. Allen St., is offering a 10:30 a.m. gadget class with iPads and other tablet computers to discuss and try; clowns for a good-humor event at 10 a.m.; a children’s storytime event at 11 a.m.; and a free, acoustic concert at 7 p.m. A dramatic reading of ‘Half-Broke Horses,’ this year’s Centre County Reads book, is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Boogersburg School, on Fox Hill Road in Patton Township.
Related coverage
